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A Toronto woman accused of bilking fellow Filipinos of more than $500,000 in a phony chiropractic clinic scam has pleaded guilty to 16 counts of fraud.

Rowena Villanueva, 48, of North York will be sentenced next January after the victims present their impact statements to the court.

Similar fraud charges against her husband, Quintin Robles, 57, are expected to be withdrawn and will be dealt with on that day. The couple were originally co-charged with 34 fraud-related offences.

The guilty pleas by Villanueva come two years after a Star investigation revealed dozens of investors were promised returns as high as 7 to 10 per cent a month if they invested in a chain of rehab clinics Villanueva claimed she partly owned with others.

Many of the investors, most of them Filipino caregivers and personal support workers, lost their entire savings. Abby Pascual lost $90,000 after Villanueva persuaded her to invest the proceeds of her mother’s life insurance policy and other monies.

Her mother had died of cancer and Pascual had been in a serious car accident, and Villanueva told the distraught young woman that investing the insurance monies in her company would be the safest investment vehicle for her.

“All we are looking for is justice and some sense of closure,” said Pascual, who was the driving force behind getting the group of fraud victims to go to police. It wasn’t until the Star investigation that the Toronto police got involved, resulting in the 34 fraud charges laid by Det. Peter Christie of the financial crimes unit.

A 71-year-old widow told the Star she lost more than $70,000. When she asked for her money back, Villanueva issued a series of cheques on her daughter’s account, some of which bounced.

“This is a story about the victims,” Christie said Monday. “These are genuine victims, people that were duped by a trusted member of the community.”

Villanueva, he said, preyed on the vulnerability of her fellow countrymen by telling them they could have more money to send home to their families in the Philippines if they invested through her.

Christie is preparing victim-impact statements for the Jan. 10 court date, at which time police say charges against Robles are expected to be dropped.

The investment scheme took place between 2007 and 2011, and known losses total more than $500,000. Christie believes, however, there are other victims who did not come forward.

The Star investigation found Villanueva pulled off the scam by claiming to be part-owner of the legitimate Physical Therapy One chain of clinics, using business cards and company letterhead to solicit investment funds. In some cases, she persuaded victims to take out loans to come up with money for her, even driving some to their banks to get the funds.

Corporate documents obtained by the Star revealed Villanueva and Robles were partners in a company called Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Group. The company, which existed only on paper, was used extensively to solicit funds from investors.

Most investors were given official-looking contracts, complete with interest repayment schedules. When the victims tried to call in their investments, the couple dropped out of sight, leading many of the investors to believe they had returned to their native Philippines.

The Star found them living in a dilapidated townhouse complex at Don Mills Rd. and Don Valley Parkway. At the time Villanueva refused to address the allegations, saying she was checking with her lawyer regarding her rights.

Shortly after the Star’s investigation was published in October 2011, Villanueva and Robles declared bankruptcy owing creditors more than $600.000. Some but not all of the investors were listed as creditors.

The bankruptcy case has been delayed pending the result of the court proceedings, as has the $1.5-million lawsuit filed by Physical Therapy One Inc. against Villanueva.

In its lawsuit, the company says Villanueva worked for a time as an independent contractor on commission for referrals and marketing but she was never an owner. She was fired after the company learned “she had engaged in fraudulent activity” to solicit funds for her own endeavours.

And while many of the victims struggled, even to this day, to repay loans they took out to invest with Villanueva, the couple appeared to carry on with an upscale lifestyle. Photos posted on Facebook depict vacations taken by the family at a luxury Caribbean resort in Varadero, Cuba.

Even after the Star published its investigation and the couple had declared bankruptcy, the Star received calls from readers saying they had spotted them gambling at Casino Rama in Orillia and at the Blue Heron casino in Port Perry.

According to Pascual, most of the victims plan to attend court in January in their search for closure to their investment nightmare.

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